Although the alchemists' fundamental goal of elemental
transmutation was flawed, on a deeper level
the work of alchemy (cloaked in allegorical images)
also represented the transformation of the soul.
Modern science has accomplished the transmutation of elements
using means that the alchemists never dreamed of.
And there is still a small group of occult researchers who persist
in trying to continue the work.
The documents of alchemy make fascinating reading for historians
of science and the esoteric.